Overview:
Djibouti and South Sudan are also set for an enthralling duel, with both legs scheduled to take place at Juba Stadium. The first meeting is on 26 March, before the sides clash again three days later in what could prove to be a unique contest, with South Sudan enjoying the familiarity of home surroundings across both fixtures.
The road to the highly anticipated TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2027 has begun.
The qualifying round for the 12 lowest ranked nations as per Fifa rankings made in January started on Wednesday with Eritrea beating Eswatini 2-0 to earn a first leg advantage.
Goals from Ablelom Teklzig and Ali Suleiman in the 81st and 90+4th minutes respectively earned the Cecafa nation a deserved win.
The two will face off in the return leg on March 31 to determine who gets to the next round; the Group Stage qualifiers.
The preliminary round, with home-and-away fixtures spread across Southern, Eastern and Central Africa, already promises tightly contested encounters as teams look to seize the initiative before the decisive return legs.
On Thursday March 26, Lesotho and Seychelles will clash at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, before facing off again at the same venue three days later.
Djibouti and South Sudan are also set for an enthralling duel, with both legs scheduled to take place at Juba Stadium. The first meeting is on 26 March, before the sides clash again three days later in what could prove to be a unique contest, with South Sudan enjoying the familiarity of home surroundings across both fixtures.
On 27 March, Somalia face Mauritius in the first leg at Lalgy Arena in Matola, before Mauritius host the return encounter at the National Sports Complex in Saint Pierre on 31 March.
Chad and Burundi will also begin their battle on 27 March when they meet at Stade Olympique in N’Djamena. The return leg in Bujumbura four days later is expected to be equally competitive.
Also on 27 March, Sao Tome e Principe take on Ethiopia in El Jadida before the second leg shifts to Dire Dawa on 31 March.
The six teams that advance will join the 42 other Member Associations of CAF in the Group Phase of qualification ahead of next year’s finals.
TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 Preliminary Round Fixtures [Times are GMT]
25/03 Eritrea 2-0 Eswatini – Stade d’Honneur, Meknes
31/03 – 14h00: Eswatini vs Eritrea – Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba
26/03 – 14h00: Seychelles vs Lesotho – Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
29/03 – 15h00: Lesotho vs Seychelles – Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
26/03 – 13h00: Djibouti vs South Sudan – Juba Stadium, Juba
29/03 – 13h00: South Sudan vs Djibouti – Juba Stadium, Juba
27/03 – 13h00: Somalia vs Mauritius – Lalgy Arena, Matola
31/03 – 15h00: Mauritius vs Somalia – National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre
27/03 – 13h00: Chad vs Burundi – Stade Olympique, N’Djamena
31/03 – 13h00: Burundi vs Chad – Stade Intwari, Bujumbura
27/03 – 16h00: Sao Tome e Principe vs Ethiopia – Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium, El Jadida
31/03 – 13h00: Ethiopia vs Sao Tome e Principe – Dire Dawa Stadium